Garcia and Behich feature for Socceroos

Melbourne Heart FC pair Richard Garcia and Richard Garcia featured for Holger Osieck's Qantas Socceroos as the national team ground out a 1-0 win over Hong Kong in the first East Asian Football Federation East Asian Cup 2013 qualifier last night.

Australia were made to work for three points, but the positive from Heart's perspective was that Garcia and Behich, who have been forming an effective partnership for Heart, played important roles in Osieck's plans.

The pair were named in the starting line-up, which handed Behich his first ever start for the national side.

The 21-year-old debuted in friendly match against South Korea on 14 November, registering his first appearance off the bench, replacing Carl Valeri in the 59th minute, making last night's match his first start.

Behich featured for the full 90 minutes, while Garcia, who made his return to international football, was replaced in the 80th minute by the Central Coast Mariners' Tom Rogic.

The duo were selected alongside Heart right-back Michael Marrone, who may feature in the upcoming matches.